Haibara's Confessions
by jack-adam
Summary: Haibara finally confesses to Conan with a reason she does not know why. Haibara in denial. Conan in confusion. Ran trying to bring them together. Please read and review! Last chapter!
1. Confession

Please do not worry, fellow readers! I have not given up my old stories, ESPECIALLY not Ai Edogawa. This is just a story I thought of when I was in class, and decided to use it. Enjoy!

CHAPTER 1

" I love you."

Haibara froze, the words she said clinging onto the conversation like a dog on a priceless bone. Conan and Ran just stared at her, their mouths open, gaping at her, and it was miraculous how two people of the different gender looked so much alike. The three of them were at Ran's house for lunch, and just as Ran had just come back from the kitchen bringing back the food, the words just flowed out of her mouth unexpectantly to Conan. It was strange why, actually. She remembered it was something he had said, but for the moment, everything was a blur right now.

Ran dropped the platter onto the table, eyes wide.

" You what? Ai-chan?" she asked.

Feet trembling, feeling a sudden weakness all of a sudden, she dashed for the door, face red, as she grabbed her coat.

" Haibara!" Conan yelled, running after her.

He was a fast runner. Or maybe it was just that she was slow. He had grasped her hand just as she was on her way down the steps to the street. Her head turned to glare at him, not her expression softened at the look on his face. Confusion, expectance, sorrow-maybe even hopefulness? Haibara was not sure.

" You-you love me." Conan said, speechless.

" No I don't." she barked, trying to wrench her hand from his grasp.

" But you just said it." He argued.

" I-I was just kidding." She continued hopelessly, giving up on getting away, trying to give him that usual smirk she always did.

" No you weren't." he said, trying to pull her towards him.

" Oh, yes I was." Haibara almost yelled.

" Haibara!" Conan yelled, as Haibara got out of his grasp, grabbing for the handle of the door but he slammed it shut, his hand on the door, her hands on the handle. " Do you really love me? You can't have been kidding!"

" Fine!" she yelled. " I wasn't kidding, happy?"

Silence.

" You love me." He said once more.

" No," she stammered, in a voice so unlike the regular Haibara.

" What?" he asked, astounded.

" I was kidding that wasn't kidding, okay?" she spat.

" Haibara." He said, voice soft now, his hand slipping away from the door. " Do you really love me? I-I want a true reply. I-I just don't know how to react."

Haibara didn't say anything, her face not facing his. Tears were starting to fall from her eyes now, and all she wanted was to be hugged. Her sister? Ran? Conan? It wasn't like her to be so weak. Not Haibara Ai.

" I do." She said quietly, opening the door.

And this time he didn't stop her.

She ran out, the rain splattering on her face as the detective agency slowly disappeared out of view.

Ran crept behind Conan, biting her lip.

" Aren't you going to go after her? Conan."

Conan watched the rain splatter down on the streets from the view of the small opening of the door.

" No." he said, almost soft enough to be speaking to himself.

" No, I don't think I will."

Ran watched him walk past her and enter the house, the soft sounds of movement of the things in the house made Ran aware that he had went into his room. She looked at the door holding Conan. She looked at the raining streets. She bit her lip and grabbed an umbrella, running into the street.

-

Haibara just kept running.

She could hear the murmurings of people around her, catching phrases like, ' Where are her parents?' or ' Did she forget to bring her umbrella?' or ' Who's that?' But she just ignored them and kept running. She cursed herself for being so stupid. Why in the name of Hell did she confess to him? It must have been something he said. Or did. She had somehow totally forgotten the entire incident.

Weird.

Not knowing anything, she bumped into an unknowing person, and she fell backwards to the ground.

" Watch it, kid." The person growled.

She said nothing but picked herself up, and brushed herself. Boy was she soaked. The stupid jacket didn't do much help either. The very fact that she had no shoes no didn't help either, and she knew she would be sick the very next day. For days, weeks, months? She didn't know. But something bitter inside her hoped she would just die. Just die and be forgotten and thrown away.

Not that anyone remembered her now, anyway.

She laughed at herself. Boy would she laugh at herself if she was looking at someone else's point of view. Confessing her love to a person whose life she destroyed. It was like a Haibara confessing to a-never mind. This scene was so familiar. This was just like when she escaped from the organization, just without a crush, two shocked people and one crapped out situation.

Well, the old situation wasn't so good either.

" Ai-chan?" came a sweet voice.

She whipped around, coming face to face with Ran. She blinked.

" Ran-san." She said tonelessly.

" What are you doing here in the rain?" Ran asked kindly. " It's pouring buckets. Come on in, and I'll make you tea."

Haibara looked away.

" Go away." She said coldly. " I can't go back there."

Ran almost laughed out loud at how mature this young ten-year-old was acting, but bit her tongue. Plus, she didn't want to offend her, and just looked at her watch anxiously. " Come on, Ai." She said persistently. " You won't have to meet him. I'll bring you to a diner. My treat." She added, hoping it would change her mind.

Haibara rolled her eyes.

' How old do you think I am?'

" No thanks." She said. " Leave me alone."

" But I can't let you get into any trouble," Ran said, ready to just grab her by the arms and drag her all the way back. " The professor cares deeply about you, and so do all of all. Conan-Conan included."

Haibara flinched.

" How do you know?" she spat. " You're not my mom."

Ran raised her eyebrows. Boy this girl was tough.

She was just about to give up when a screech of tires came across from the side of the road. The windshield winded down. " Ran?" came Kogoro's voice from inside the car. " What are you doing here? You didn't leave Conan at home, didn't you?"

" Er," Ran began sheepishly. " Yeah."

" Well, come on in. I have a client in the car." He paused for a while a young woman waved at Ran at the backseat. " She wants to speak to me at our place-hey? Isn't that the professor's daughter?"

Haibara flinched.

' Daughter?'

" No," Ran said, almost sulkily. " Just someone the professor's taking care of."

" Why's she wet?" Kogoro asked.

Gasping, Ran put the umbrella over her head, but Haibara hit it away.

" Leave me be." She spat.

Ran bit her lip.

" What's with that kid?" the young lady in the car said, and as these words came out of her mouth, Haibara spun around, and there was that feeling. Cold, dark-chilling. Ran looked at her curiously. Haibara glared at the smiling young lady. Haibara sighed.

" Sorry, Ran-san. I'll come."

" Great." Ran said brightly.

Haibara looked at the young lady.

She frowned.

-

Conan was on his bed, listening to the rain patter on the windows of his room.

His eyes always drifted sideways to the picture of him and the Detective Boys, all of them grinning as they watched Ayumi cut the cake for her birthday. There was Haibara, smiling softly in the corner, Genta's chubby hand on one of her shoulders, a party hat on his head. All of a sudden that smile she wore on her face seemed so cold and dry, like she was merely putting on a mask for an audience to see. He smiled bitterly at the thought.

FLASHBACK

They were at the circus, and the three Detective Boys were laughing at the clowns throw pies at each other. Conan laughed along, but noticed Haibara sighed and look away, sipping silently at her drink.

" Oi," he said witheringly, propping one cheek on his wrist. She blinked and looked at him. " Why are you calm at everything? I've never heard you laugh before. The times you ever laughed matches the many times that Genta has felt full before."

" Never." She said plainly.

" Bingo." He said.

She sighed and watched the clowns, hearing the audience roar with laughter. " How do you know that they're crying inside?" he asked.

" Who?" Conan asked.

" The clowns." Haibara said.

Conan watched them.

" Why?" he laughed. " That's just ironic, isn't it?"

" Indeed." She said sorrowfully. " How do you know how they feel under those masks? Smiles of blood, tears leaking out of their eyes from the pictures they show which they can't wipe. Humans are like clowns. They simply don't show what they really are. Just like someone I know."

" Oi oi," he said, " Are you talking about me?"

She opened her mouth to say something, before that cool smirk returned to her face.

" What do you think?" she said, dropping a piece of popcorn into her mouth.

END OF FLASHBACK

Could she have been-referring to herself?

He looked t her smiling face in the picture.

He looked away.

Do I. . .love her back?

END OF CHAPTER 1

Hey, don't ask me, I write sad stories too. How are you all doing? Did you all like the chapter? Please read and review me-And me, of course. Please look forward to chapter two, and the coming conclusion of Ai Edogawa!

NEXT CHAPTER: Conan and Haibara: Embarrasing conversation!


	2. Pecks of love

Thank you for all the kind reviews! THANK YOU! Did you all enjoy the final chapter of Ai Edogawa? Here's chapter two of Haibara's Confession! I hope you all like it! Enjoy!

CHAPTER 2

Conan walked out of his room after what seemed like hours of thinking, ready to finally eat his lunch when the door opened, and Ran, Kogoro, Haibara and some strange young lady walked in. Must have been a client of Kogoro. His eyes fell onto Haibara's and he blushed.

She ignored him and walked off after Ran, following her into the living room where Kogoro and the lady sat down on the chairs around the table. Conan scratched his head. If he hadn't remembered what had happened just now, he would have thought she was angry with him or something, or that she was just acting like-well, Haibara. But this was different. Did she think that he did not love her back? Did she think that his answer to her would be negative?

Or was she just ignoring him to avoid unnecessary conversation?

Kogoro gave a nod of affirmation at Ran who pointed at the empty cups on the tables. She filled them with coffee soon afterwards.

" So what's the urgent need you have to see me about?" Kogoro asked.

She woman reached into her purse and took out a diskette and placed it on the table. " I have no crime or anything to report." She said, taking a sip out of the cup of coffee. " I just want-this tastes delicious-you to help me keep this secure until I come back from Australia for a few days."

Kogoro raised his eyebrows at the diskette.

" What's in it?" he asked.

" Alas," she said. " I cannot tell you. It is top secret, it is."

" But I can't be sure on what sort of defense I can show for it." He replied, rubbing his chin. " I might look at the contents when you are gone, so you might as well tell me now anyway."

The woman hid a laugh, spitting into her coffee.

Ran turned back, alarmed.

" What's so funny?" Kogoro asked.

" You can try if you want." She said, folding her arms. " But it's layered by a number of codes, and you would have to be one of us in order to crack it."

Conan frowned.

One of us?

Haibara sneaked a peek at him.

He turned around to face her, but she looked away.

He bit his lip.

' Was she angry?'

" I guess I'll be going." She said, getting up from her seat. " I'll give you your money when I come back. Name your price."

" Name yours." He said.

She bit her lip and looked up at the ceiling.

" I think-twenty thousand would be sufficient."

" TWENTY THOUSAND!" Kogoro yelled, spitting out the coffee out of his mouth.

" If that's not enough, I would gladly raise it." She said.

" It's enough." Ran said, smiling at her and she wiped up the loose coffee from the table. " Alright." The woman said, laughing. " I guess I'll see you when I get back. I'll bring you all some souvenirs from Australia."

" Thank you!" Ran said cheerfully as the woman made for the door.

Kogoro wiped his mouth.

" Twenty thousand dollars." He muttered. " Might as well bring me back from Australia a koala figurine made of gold."

Conan frowned at the woman. Twenty thousand? There was a great possibility of her not returning for the disk. It could be that she was running for her life, and wanted to entrust the sole thing the organization hadn't got their hands on onto someone else other than her. He walked up to her, that kiddy smile back onto his face.

" Aunt!" he said cheerfully, and she smiled at him.

" Do you have any alcoholic friends?" he asked, and watched her eyes darken.

" Gin?" he went on, and he could see her hand clench on her coat. " Vodka? Or even," his eyes unknowingly led over to Haibara. " Sherry?'"

There was silence.

" CONAN!" Kogoro yelled, slamming his fist into the base of Conan's head. The woman glared at the little kid before walking out the door. Haibara raised her eyebrows at her, then her eyes led to the diskette.

Okay.

Interesting.

-

" So? Got anything in it?" Conan asked anxiously.

Haibara didn't answer, but type furiously on the keyboard. They had secretly exchanged the diskette with some strange game that the professor had invented and were trying it over at Haibara's place. Conan, obviously, chose to stay over for the night. The professor leaned over the shoulders, biting his lip. " But Ai," he said tensely. " Are you sure that she's-one of them? It could have been a common mishap. Or that she was just screwing around."

" There's a possibility for that." Haibara said, still not turning around. " But when Kudo asked her about the drinking habits, I sensed a cold aura coming out of her. It's almost definite that she's on the run. Nine out of ten chances, she's not going to come back for that disk, dead or not."

Conan nodded.

" Yeah. But I don't think she's in the organization."

" Oh no?" Haibara asked sarcastically.

Conan frowned, biting his lip.

" Do you have a problem with me, Haibara?" he asked.

" Lying, no. Telling the truth, yes." She answered.

" Why?"

" I don't know." She said, voice as oily as hair cream.

" But just this morning, you said that you,"

" I think there are roughly three codes here." She said, cutting in sharply into his sentence. " I would be able to get through them but at least next Tuesday. That wouldn't give us much time if she's coming back, but I sincerely doubt so. I could copy out the answers after I get them off the password block, but that's only if I have time, luck and NO DISTRACTIONS." She finished off the sentence, glancing sideways at Conan who blinked.

" Me?" he asked. " I can help!"

" The only help you give me is more nightmares." She said silkily.

He glared at her before stomping off into his room and slammed the door shut.

" That was slightly too mean, don't you think?" the professor asked.

Haibara turned around.

" No." she said, before continuing to type.

-

" Ah? A kid love?"

Ran nodded as she bit into the fish she had cooked.

" They'll both get over it." Kogoro said in an offhand voice. Eri, who had come over for dinner that night, raised her eyebrows at him before turning to the worried Ran. " What does that concern you?" Eri asked. " Although I admit it's kind of disturbing to see one kid confess to the other, they're still young. They'll forget it."

Ran bit her lip and nodded.

" That's true. But still,"

" But still?" Eri echoed.

" I always thought they were made for each other. Both are extremely smart, obedient and even mature. Haibara's much more compatible with Haibara that he is with other girls who like him, such as Ayumi."

" But they've all split up, haven't they?" Kogoro asked, drinking his tea.

" Yeah." Ran said. " Only Conan and Haibara are in the same school."

Eri thought for a moment before shrugging.

" Well, be the matchmaker." She said. " Put them together."

Ran blinked.

Kogoro snorted, but didn't say anything.

Then Ran brightened up.

" Yeah." She said brightly. " I'll do just that."

Eri smiled.

-

It was midnight.

Conan got up, yawning as he walked towards the kitchen. It was getting harder and harder for him to have a nice peaceful sleep these few days, and all he wanted now was a nice, warm cup of milk before snuggling back into his soft bed sheets, and falling fast asleep. He yanked open the fridge door and pulled out the carton of milk. Then his eyes fell onto a young girl who was sleeping on the computer table, the computer light still flashing on.

" Was she awake all this while?" he asked himself, placing the carton back into the fridge and shut the door quietly. He walked softly up beside, clicking his fingers up to her face. She didn't even blink. He smiled at the sleeping figure of Haibara. She was just so unknowingly beautiful when she wasn't scowling or spitting sarcastic comments at people, that he almost slapped himself for not knowing it before. He reached out to touch her but stopped himself in time.

What was he doing, was he stupid?

There was this strange feeling of watching the girl who destroyed his life sleep there. He remembered hating her when he first met her. Hating her existence, hating her face, hating every inch of her. But now-hey, she wasn't so bad.

Unknowingly, he bent down and pressed his lips lightly on her cheek before pulling away, smiling as he walked back to his room. There was no need for milk after all.

Indeed Haibara was the girl who destroyed his life.

He looked at her back as he shut the door.

But she was also the one who saved it.

Hearing the door shut, Haibara Ai's eyes flicked open.

She blushed and wiped her cheek.

" That idiot." She muttered.

END OF CHAPTER 2

Please read and review. Please go to my author's page and click on 'website' to vote. It will only take a few minutes of your time. Thank you.


	3. Ran's silent tears

CHAPTER 3

Haibara took another sip of coffee before setting it gently on the table and resumed her typing. It was about slightly past eight in the morning and the professor and Conan had not gotten up yet. Not that that was a surprise of any sort. The earliest time that the professor had ever gotten up without Haibara's infamous wake-up calls was for him to be just in time for linner. Breakfast and lunch was brunch, which made lunch and dinner linner. It was some lame joke that Genta had cracked up when she had told Conan about it and Genta had overheard, and she had not been able to get it out of her mind every since.

She sighed and rubbed her tired eyes. Somehow Conan's kiss had woken her up drastically, and for some reason she had wanted to stay at the computer until he woke up and came out with a reason she did not know why. She blushed at the thought, and unknowingly her finger lifted up to caress her cheek before pressing it on her lips.

Blushing even more furiously, she shook herself violently and resumed her steady typing. She had almost unlocked the second code when a rather loud knocking sounded the room. She jumped at the noise before glaring at the door and stomped over to it. Whoever that was who was at the door, if it was not for something extremely important and life changing, she would personally wrap her arms around that person's neck, and-

" Hello! Ai-chan! Did I wake you up?"

Oh. Never mind then.

" Hello, Ran-san." She said tonelessly.

" Sorry for coming so early in the morning," Ran said sheepishly, stripping off her shoes and hopped past Haibara, a plastic bag in her hand. Haibara's eyes immediately traveled down to the bag she was holding, and looked up at her with raised eyebrows.

" Oh, that!" Ran said, dropping the plastic bag onto the table. " Well, it sort of is the main reason I came. Since you both did the favour of letting him stay over countless times, I guessed it would be paying back the favour to bring you all some breakfast!"

Wow, this girl must be really nice.

" You like teriyaki, right?" she went on cheerfully.

She must also be daft.

" Yeah" she said, forcing a smile on her lips. " I'm okay with it."

" What are you doing on the computer?" Ran asked curiously.

" Nothing." Haibara said, opening a packet of rice. " Just homework."

" Oh." Ran said, before sitting down. " Where are,"

" Sleeping." Haibara answered. " I'll wake them up if you want."

" No," Ran said. " It's okay. Actually, there was something I wanted to ask you in private."

" Oh? What about?" Haibara said, not showing an inch of interest.

" About you and Conan," Ran said slowly, watching Haibara recoil at the thought. " I know it's none of my business," Ran persisted. " And you might just think that I'm being a busybody, but I would like to know what's going on."

" Why?" Haibara hissed, and Ran bit her lip at Haibara's tone.

Sure Haibara almost never smiled at her or even talked to her, but Ran was older that her, and so naturally Ran expected even the slightest of respect.

She bowed her head, bitterness in her tone. " Because the same thing happened to me and Shinichi." She said, and Haibara turned to look at her.

What?

" It happened not too long ago with me and him. I told him I loved him but he didn't show it back. And it hurt."

Haibara's expression softened.

Stupid, Haibara thought. He just didn't want you to get in harm's way. He still loves you. I bet you know he does.

" In a way we're both alike." Ran said, wiping her eyes softly. " We both have someone that we love, but's just out of reach."

Haibara didn't say anything, her hand still on the unopened packet of rice.

The room met with silence for a while.

" I fell in love with him ever since one last Christmas." Haibara said quietly, and Ran looked up at her. " There was a party in the living room in the professor's house, and I just stayed alone in the basement. I just sat there, staring at a blank computer screen, having no idea why I was there when I had absolutely nothing to do with it. That was when my eyes came across the picture of my past away sister in my room."

Ran licked her dry lips, not saying anything.

" I was weak all of a sudden." Haibara went on, breaking through the eerie silence that followed her last sentence. " So I just started to cry. I didn't make a big fuss out if it. I didn't scream or holler. I just cried. I had just about stopped when I noticed a shadow behind me. I turned at K—Conan was there."

Ran didn't say anything.

" He wrapped his arms around me and held me tight." She continued, biting her lip, almost forgetting Ran's existence. " I'm not fond of expressing emotions or being hugged and touched, but I just stayed there. And as I felt his arms around me, I knew that I would not fall for anyone else but him ever again."

Suddenly realizing what she had just shared, her face reddened furiously, and was about to say that it was all a joke once more, when she met with Ran's smile.

" As I said," Ran said. " You and I are terribly alike."

Haibara's eyes widened.

Ran just smiled at her.

Haibara's shocked expression changed to a warm smile.

" Yeah." She said. " I guess you're right."

-

" So how are you going to get about to ending up with Conan?" Ran asked, biting into a slice of chicken. The two of them had started to eat the still-warm food, almost totally forgetting about the waking up of the professor and Conan.

Haibara blushed and shrugged.

" I don't know." She said. " I don't think it's possible he would love me back."

Ran raised her eyebrows.

" Why's that?" she asked. " From what I hear from your friends and Conan, you're very popular in your class with both the girls and boys. And plus you're really mature, smart and pretty. Just like Conan."

Haibara bit into her teriyaki softly, not knowing what to say.

" Because I was the one who ruined his life." She said.

Ran would have laughed if she didn't know Haibara so well.

" Why?" Ran asked. " What did you do?"

Haibara ate quietly for a moment.

" I did something normal people would forgive." Haibara said.

Ran blinked. " But did he?" she asked again.

Haibara raised her eyebrows at this. Even she was not so sure. Did Conan still hate her for what she did to him? Did he still hate her for shrinking him?

" I don't know." She said.

Ran didn't say anything before smiling once again at her.

Haibara looked at her in surprise.

" I don't think he does." She said, laughing. " Or else he would not have showed affection to you at the Christmas party, right?"

Haibara bit her lip.

" That's true, but," Haibara said.

" Conan is a person who forgives easily." She said. " He does not remember past grudges. You should know that."

Haibara's hurt expression turned into a smile.

"Yeah." She said.

" Someday," Ran said brightly, dropping her chopsticks down for a moment. " You and I should go shopping together. I'll bring you to the best shops I know. Even a girl as pretty as you should get nice clothes once in a while you know."

Haibara wanted to tell Ran that her sense in fashion was ten times better that Ran's could ever dream of being, but looking at the sweet smile on Ran's face, she sighed and grinned. " Okay, Ran-san." She said. " I would like that."

The professor had heard it all.

From the top to the bottom.

He glanced at the sleeping Conan.

" Damn, just how do you do it?" he whispered softly, smiling to himself. " You created an impossible bond between that would have never started because of you. You made twp girls that would have never even liked you in the beginning fall in love with you. And,"

He glanced at Haibara, who was laughing with Ran.

" You turned a cold devil of hate into an angel of love."

With one last look at the two girls, he carefully shut the door.

END OF CHAPTER 3

By the way, the professor didn't think Haibara was a devil or anything like that. It's just that it was the only word that would fit in the sentence. Please read and review.


	4. Flashback

CHAPTER 4

_They were at the table, getting ready for lunch._

' _What's wrong?' Conan had said. " Why are you looking so grumpy?' we went on, watching Ran glance at Ran who was busy in the kitchen. Haibara didn't answer, but merely yawn and look away, drumming her fingers on the table. Conan raised his eyebrows at the grumpy 'eleven-year old'._

_If it was Ran speaking, he would have suspected it to be' that day of the month again', but she was merely 'eleven', and plus she always looked like she got out on the wrong side of the bed, anyway. Haibara watched Ran for a moment before sighing and facing the other direction._

_Conan's raised his eyebrows at this once more._

' _What?' he had asked._

_Haibara merely rolled her eyes and didn't answer._

_Conan muttered something not allowed to be written into this story (PG-13, mind you.) and looked away, grumbling away. The two of them sat there for quite some time before Conan spoke again._

' _What's wrong with you?' he asked, and she spun around. _

' _What!' she spat and he flinched._

_Silence._

' _Sorry.' She muttered. ' I'm just not feeling myself today.'_

' _Then by right you should be happy.' He said, rolling his eyes._

' _What's THAT supposed to mean?' Haibara said threateningly._

' _I'm just saying that it's almost wrong,' Conan jumped. ' That you're never happy.'_

' _I can TOO.' Haibara said, offended._

' _Not happy happy,' he said. ' More like an unhappy happy happy.'_

_Haibara raised her eyebrows._

' _Wow, you really spend too much time with Genta.' She said._

' _Like on outings,' Conan said importantly like a lawyer speaking against a suspect. ' You smile, but it's not a smile smile. You smile for the sake of smiling, but people smile to smile, not for the sake of smiling an act of smiling.'_

_Haibara looked at him, bewildered._

' _You're retarded.' She said, looking away._

_But inside her, she knew that his stupid lines of mind twisting were right. She did not smile truthfully. It was just a mask. Like a clown at a circus. Just to show a performance, to avoid Ayumi and the others from worrying. Especially Ayumi, as she was the one of all of them beside Conan and the professor who knew her best. And it shocked her slightly at that._

_It was just that she was alone._

_So hollow and empty, knowing that nothing could fill it. There were some times when she lay in bed, wondering if she should just run away, avoiding the deaths of the people she loved when Conan's words would beat into her head.'_

' _Don't escape from your destiny.' He had said._

_She would smile and cuddle next to the professor and fall asleep, and the next day find him snoring into her ears. But he was her best friend, her keeper._

_He was the father she never had._

_Haibara bit her lip and glared at Conan._

' Do you think she'll still wait for you?' Haibara asked quietly and Conan turned around to stare at her.

' _What?' he asked, once again._

' _A normal-human being,' Haibara said, almost threading through every word. ' Wouldn't wait for this many years for you unless you're a relative or father who left her; which I doubt. Most likely she's forgotten or going to forget you sooner or later, so might as well break up with her now.'_

_A fresh coat of quilt slid through her heart. Okay, that was way over the top. She knew the reason she had said that was because she had been desperately in love with him for a pretty damn long time now, and there was absolutely nothing she could do about it, unless Shinichi or Ran broke up with one another. _

_She looked at Conan, trying to look as cool and collected as she used to, but totally lost it when she saw Conan smile._

' _That's what you always think don't you,' he whispered softly. ' A scientific example. Through tests and polls and theorems. A human person would have murdered herself if she were in your position, having almost a 99 per cent chance of being killed or shot on the streets. And yet,' he continued, glancing in her direction. ' Here you are.'_

_Haibara didn't say anything._

' _You can tell which exact formula can make which. You can change anything you want to in your notes. But the most unreliable test is about someone's heart.'_

_Haibara bit her lip._

' _Oh God, please don't say it,' she forced herself to say in her mind._

' _I love her.' Conan had said, a smile on his face. ' And that will never change.'_

_Her heart broke into two right there and then._

_Tears that threatened to spill from her eyes stopped as she forced herself to stay calm, watching Conan looking at Ran walk over, food in her hands._

' _Sorry to keep you both waiting!' she said cheerfully. _

' _Ran-neechan!' Conan said, changing his tone of voice immediately._

_Haibara would have laughed if she weren't feeling so somber._

_Something inside her cracked, like the same as keeping a secret way over the elapsed time, like having a joke and having nobody to tell it to. _

' _Conan,' she whispered, and Conan turned around._

' _I love you.' She had said. ' I love you.'_

_-_

Conan woke up.

He rubbed his eyes and put on his no-degree glasses. That was weird. Dreaming about an incident that happened was so unlike him. He scratched his head and reached out to shake the professor awake, only to find out that he was not there. Conan blinked. That was weird, once again. This had to be some new record for the professor to wake up earlier that him. Come to think of it, the only time THAT had happened was when he was drunk and the professor wasn't.

He rolled his eyes and wrenched open the door sleepily.

His eyes widened at what he saw.

The professor was watching the news.

That was weird.

He always watched the cartoons.

He looked at the table and saw Ran and Haibara laughing and eating at the table.

The past three things were weird, but this was just-

Doh.

" If only I had my camera," he muttered, closing the door behind him.

" Good morning!" the professor said brightly. " Ran brought breakfast!"

" Did she not?" Conan said, walking over.

" Hello, Conan!" ran said brightly.

Haibara looked away, blushing furiously.

Conan, taking that she was still ignoring him, sighed.

" Haibara-can I talk to you for a moment?"

Haibara's face reddened considerable after that.

Ran smiled.

" Fine." Haibara mumbled, following after him as they walked into the kitchen.

They stood in the kitchen for a while, Haibara watching Conan with raised eyebrows as he scratched the back of his head uncomfortably.

" Can-can we be friends again?" he mumbled.

Her eyes widened.

" Because," he said, blushing lightly. " I-I don't think I could live without a friend like you."

Her shocked expression disappeared.

She smiled at him.

A true smile.

He blinked.

She turned and walked out of the kitchen, almost rolling her eyes as she saw Ran and the professor give her two thumbs up. But she just grinned.

Maybe she wasn't alone after all.

Conan just watched her walk away, before smiling witheringly. " Now, who said that she could show a true smile?" he whispered to himself, leaning against the wall.

Ran and the professor looked at each other.

They smiled, and high-fived.

END OF CHAPTER 4

How do you think? Please read and review me!


	5. Surprise

Well, this story too is coming to an end. In just one more chapter, this will be done. DONE! Hahaha, one less story to complete. Makes me glad and sad in a strange way. When I finished Ai Edogawa I felt weird and yet happy at the same time, and had to fight the urge to read it. Maybe I should some day. Tell you something else. Whenever I feel stressed out or angry or hurt, I just switch on the computer and read my reviews, and slowly all the anger and pain fades away.

Thank you, all of you, for the wonderful review.

Okay. Now onto the second last chapter.

CHAPTER 5

" I almost thought you would never come back." Kogoro muttered.

The woman laughed as Ran smiled slightly, handing two cups of hot tea to the two of them sitting at the table. She handed the rest of the money over to Kogoro, who licked his lips excitedly at the sight. Then he frowned at her. " Since everything's over and done with, I would like to clear some things out with you."

She didn't say anything, so he continued.

" Could you please tell me what was in the disk? And what was the organization you were after? And why you took so long?"

She raised her eyebrows at him before shrugging her shoulders.

" Okay then." She said. " I might as well tell you. I'm a police officer, and in this disk are top secret documents regarding the different kind of antidotes and drugs they made and manufactured. I had to leave them with somebody and you were the best person I thought I could find."

Kogoro's chest puffed up with pride at that.

" They couldn't trace you, and they went after me. But to cut a long story short, I got them where I wanted, and we rounded them up. Several of them got away, but I have a feeling that we'll get them sooner or later. But it would be hard. Those crooks are as hard as doorknobs and slick as grease."

" What do they call themselves?" Ran asked, fascinated.

" I'm not really sure." The woman said, rubbing her chin. " Thesomething organization."

" Great help." Kogoro muttered. " What did they do?"

" Nothing really serious until two weeks ago." She said. " Where they surrounded almost ninety per-cent of the Black Market. They were the pillar of it, and it collapsed as soon as we got them. Very tricky, all of them. I was searching for them for years and never even got close to them."

" Years?" Ran asked incredulously.

" Years." The woman said, nodding. Then she looked at the clock and got up. " Well, thanks for your help, Mister Mouri." She said. " If you would just give me back the diskette, I would be on my way."

" Right," Kogoro muttered, and gasped.

" It's gone!" he yelped. " The disk's gone! Oh MY BLINKING!"

" It's at the professor's house," Ran said hurriedly. " I'll get it."

" If that's the case, then never mind." The woman said, almost laughing at the gasping Kogoro. " It's no use to us anyway, so you just have to tell him to demolish it tomorrow. It's no big deal."

" No." Ran said, blushing slightly. " I wanted to go there anyway."

Kogoro blinked.

" Why?" he asked.

A flash of Conan and Haibara filled her mind.

She smiled.

" It's a secret." She said, before running out the door.

" You have a very lively daughter." The woman laughed.

" Tell me about it." Kogoro said, sighing.

Ran was humming a tune happily as she hopped towards the professor's house. Just the other day she had talked with Haibara. This time she would be speaking to Conan directly. He had stayed over for a large number of times these few days, and she was hopeful that that meant something. But she decided to take care of it personally; no matter how annoying that would seem to others.

She giggled at the mere thought. The two of them were just so cute together, she felt like thumping her head against the wall for not thinking of it sooner. She had soon reached the front door and knocked on it quietly. There was no reply. She raised her eyebrows and knocked once again.

She looked at her watch.

It was just two in the afternoon.

Did they go out for lunch?

She pulled out her spare key and unlocked the door, and went inside. Sounding stupid that she didn't open the door sooner, but she preferred for people to open the door for her, as it seemed rude to just barge in like that. Plus, they didn't know she had a key with her anyway. She dropped her shoes, and gave a small smile as she heard a cry of happiness from the television.

No wonder.

Soccer.

" Oh yes! They rock! THEY ROCK!"

" Conan?"

" Ran?" Conan gasped, stopping in a mid-air jump, crashing to the ground. She giggled as she helped him up. " Why didn't you let me in?" she asked. " You heard me didn't you? I knocked twice."

" No I didn't." Conan said, switching off the television. " I was too busy watching the soccer channel. Did you see the match?"

No." Ran said amusingly.

Conan looked offended, but regained his composure.

" So, what brings you here, Ran-neechan?"

She was about to speak when she noticed the emptiness of the house.

" Where's Ai and the professor?" she asked.

" They went out." He said. " They said I was too loud, and they needed some peace and quiet."

" Any idea where to?"

Conan rubbed his chin.

" She said something about buying a dressI don't know."

Ran smiled.

" Oh did she?" she asked slyly, and Conan raised his eyebrows.

" What?" Conan asked.

: Nothing." She said. " But speaking of whichhow are you and Haibara doing?"

Conan felt an unknown blush appear on his cheeks.

" Not too good, actually." He said uncomfortably. " It's just that. . .I never knew that she liked me until she told me. She was the kind of girl that kept things bottled up inside until someone found out, or when she couldn't stand keeping it a secret anymore."

Ran smiled.

" You really know a lot about her." She said.

Conan's eyes widened before shaking his head slowly. " No I don't." he said, almost to himself now. " You would have to take a lifetime to know everything about her. She's so secretive and silent that it's almost. . ."

" Loveable?" Ran asked hopefully.

" Irritating." He finished.

Ran didn't say anything after that.

Conan swallowed.

" She never treated me as a friend," he said. " Just someone she could stay around, making sarcastic comments as I talked to her, almost never answering me correctly or truthfully. If I asked her what she was going later, she would just tell me that she was planning to go to Cambodia, but due to lack of money, she decided not to. She always sidestepped away from a real question."

Ran remained silent.

" But she was the closest friend I had." He continued, almost forgetting Ran's presence. " Whenever I was feeling the most pain or grief she was always there. Heiji-onnichan was there from time to time, but he was from another country. Haibara was just right here beside me."

Ran blinked, after Conan stayed quiet after that.

" So do you love her?" she asked.

Silence.

Did he love her?

Even he himself didn't know the answer to the question.

Just a dull shell with nothing inside it.

" She made me chicken soup once." He said, laughing away the embarrassment in his voice. " I was sick once, and I saw her making something in the kitchen. She immediately noticed me and said it was for herself, and had planned to eat it in front of me while I lay in bed and suffered. I just got angry and stomped back into bed, ready to fall asleep when you came back home, a pot of chicken soup in your hands. I was telling you about her when I remembered you telling me that you saw remains of chicken bones in the dustbin."

Ran nodded, remembering.

" She made it for me." He said. " But was too proud to admit it."

Ran could almost feel guilt and self-hate in his words. She got up from the chair, but Conan barely heard her. " I'm going now." Ran said, walking for the door. And Conan didn't stop her. " Come back as soon as you can."

She stopped as she unlocked the first lock.

" Whether you loved her or not. . .," Ran said slowly.

" I guess you just found out the answer for yourself didn't you?"

And she shut the door behind her.

He sat there.

" Dumbass." He muttered, wiping his eyes. His vision soon focused to a nearby picture on a stand. It was the professor and the detective boys, all of them grinning as they stood before an ice-cream store. Conan noticed his arms around Haibara, an ice-cream in his hand, laughing along with the rest. Haibara was looking away, facing away from the camera.

Was she blushing?

An unknown tear rolled down from his eye.

" I love her." He whispered.

" I love her."

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

It was late.

Not just bedtime late, but over-the-top, under-the-hill, blow-my-brains-out late. Haibara let out a huge yawn before continuing her typing. Conan had left without a trace, and she had half-excepted he had left out of anger that his favourite soccer team had just lost the deciding match. She smirked softly as she clicked onto a password combination, opening it once more.

She yawned once more, typing on the keyboard once more.

Click.

She stopped.

The room remained silent, nothing answering her but the dull whirr of the fan.

" I got in." she whispered.

But that was the good news.

As everybody knew, good news always came with bad news. And that bad news would soon, eventually, sprout into good news. But as Haibara's eyes widened with every word written, it was hard to see how.

END OF CHAPTER 5

All right, everybody. Ready for the final chapter? Please read and review to show your support!


	6. The final

Okay, this is the end of this story. This story ends, and I can finally concentrate on TWO stories. It's tiring, really. But your reviews always cheer me on. Please continue to read and review! Thank you for all your support!

FINAL CHAPTER

The professor let out a yawn, stretching his arms before his head, gasping in pain as he heard a familiar crack below is spine before falling to the ground, groaning in pain. " I just don't have the abs like I used to." He muttered to himself tiredly, getting up once more, switching off the air-con. He reached over to nudge Haibara awake when he noticed that she wasn't there.

He frowned.

Was she burning the night oil once more?

He opened the door, and smiled softly at what she saw. Haibara, once more, was asleep before the computer, her head rested on her arms. He walked over to her, shaking her lightly. " Ai-kun." He said. " Wake up."

She stirred, opening her eyes tiredly. " Oh." She said.

" Oh?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

She shook her head, pressing her head against her palm, dizzy with the sudden sunlight. " Nothing." She said, getting to her shaky legs, and only with a huge effort managed to walk past the professor with her usual brisk walk. The professor frowned at her. " Are you okay?" he asked.

" Never better." She said in a voice that couldn't have tricked a three-year old. " I'll just have to wash my face. Gotta be ready for school."

" Stay at home." The professor said worriedly, rushing over to help her make her way to the bathroom. " What were you doing last night?"

Haibara jaw clenched.

" Just thinking about things." She said, before shutting the door behind her.

The professor bit his lip.

" Are you sure you're okay?" he asked.

Silence.

" Yeah." She replied.

He would have reprimanded her if he didn't know her so well. He just nodded, and turned his heel, making his way back into the bedroom.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

" Good morning!"

" Good morning!"

" Ohio!"

Haibara dropped her bag on the table and dropped down to her chair, rubbing her head tiredly. She carefully unscrewed the cap of the tiny bottle, dropped one or two pills from inside and popped them into her mouth. She flicked open the cap of her water bottle and drank the almost half of the contents before resting it on the table, not even bothering to put the cap back on.

She was tired, and she was angry, and she was sad.

Because of one reason.

Three guesses what it was.

" Haibara!" came Conan's voice.

Bingo.

She looked up at his smiling face. " Morning!" he said.

She just watched him for a while before sighing. " I have the cure." She mumbled.

" What?" he asked. " Didn't hear you there."

She licked her dry lips and opened her mouth to speak. There was something holding her back from telling him. She knew she wanted to tell him. She knew she HAD to tell him. But something was drawing her back.

" I have the cure." She said.

Haibara looked away, not facing the steady, beaming smile forming once more on Conan's face that would have put the Grinch out of business.

" But," she said, and his smile faded.

" There's something wrong with it."

His face immediately regained its regular seriousness.

" What is it?" he asked.

She opened her mouth to speak when she heard a gasp from behind, and she and Conan jumped. Genta was holding the bottle of pills in his hand, pointing at the innards. " My mom told me something about this before!" he said, gasping. " It's called. . .drugs! I didn't know you took drugs!"

Haibara smiled softly and took it from them.

" It's called panadol, you clown." She said, and Ayumi and Mitsuhiko laughed as Genta blushed. Conan frowned as he watched Haibara. There was something strange about it watching her speak to them so openly. At the moment they were describing what happened on television yesterday and she was listening intently, her arms folded across her chest, a grin on her face.

He blinked and turned away.

He guessed he'd just have to wait until she told him herself.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000

Kogoro and Ran and Eri were eating dinner, and for once Kogoro didn't have wine bottles surrounding him. Ran raised her eyebrows at her somber father and frowned. " What's wrong, dad?" she asked. " I haven't seen you touch a wine bottle all day. Is there something wrong?"

" No." he said flatly. " It's just that. . ."

Even Eri was watching him.

" I have a feeling that there's going to be a storm tonight."

Ran looked out at the dark, blue sky, and there was not one dark cloud in sight. Eri coughed and smiled at Ran. " So how's my little cupid doing? Are the two of them finally hitched yet?"

" To some certain extent, yes." Ran said, beaming. " I have done all I could do. Now all I can do is for them to make the moves."

Eri smiled.

Then she glanced at Kogoro.

" At least that makes more sense that a man who stares out the window, wondering all day if there would be bad weather that day."

Kogoro smiled.

" Not all storms have to do with the weather." He said.

Ran blinked.

Eri smiled knowingly.

00000000000000000000000000000000

They had dinner.

Fish.

Rice.

Pleasant Conversation.

The calm before the storm.

Haibara was eating her food calmly, when she noticed Conan's eyes boring into her skull. She sighed and looked up, Conan immediately scrambling to get back to his food. " What is it, Kudo?" she asked, at the same moment the Professor walked back to the table, a carton of milk in his hands.

Conan dropped his chopsticks, glee written all over his face.

" You have the cure, right?" he asked.

" Right." She said.

" Well, give it to me!" he said excitedly, hammering at the table so hard that the professor spilled his milk all over the table. He paused for a while, blushing like the setting sun. Haibara sighed and got up from her chair, making her way towards the kitchen. " I'll get a towel." She said.

" Wait." Conan said, getting up.

She stopped.

" There's something wrong with it, isn't there?" he asked.

She didn't say anything.

" Haibara!" he called.

" Yes, there is, okay?" she yelled, turning around. Conan stopped, surprised by her sudden outburst. The professor walked past them quietly, making his way to the kitchen by himself. There was a sound of an ambulance that made its way past the house slowly, and they remained in silence until the sounds of the siren faded away into the night.

She watched him.

Goodbye, Conan.

" Come with me." She said.

She brought him down the stairs to the lab, where she fingered around inside the small toolbox found on the computer table. She pulled out two small pills from inside the box and placed it into his outstretched hand.

" Wow, I'm having a Matrix moment." He said jokingly.

She didn't even smile.

" The black pill is for you to turn back to your original state." She said clearly. " The red pill is for you to remain as you are. You may not think it serves any purpose, but the red pill removes any APTX from inside your body."

He blinked at the sight it before looking back up at her, mouth wide.

" What about you?" he asked.

She swallowed.

" What about you?" he yelled.

" I found the cure last night," she said silently. " It was far past bedtime when I realized that there was one cruel truth about APTX. The magical ingredient to the formulae was one of the most obvious things in the world."

He blinked, anger fading.

" What?" he asked.

" Water." She said. " Plain water. And that was why the rats died. In fact, it was a miracle that I had shrunk. Somebody up there loves me."

" What does this have to do with the cure?" he half-asked, half-yelled.

" When Gin gave the drug to you, as you said, he fed it to you with water. The water digested one-quarter of the acidic nutrients inside the pill and thus, able for you now to take the cure. It's that simple."

" My ass!" he said. " What about you?"

The professor had slowly shrunk back into the kitchen.

She let out a sad smile.

" That's why you've got to make a choice."

He blinked, once again.

" A choice?" he asked.

She blushed, looking away.

She didn't like to show emotions much.

But in this case. . .

" I love you." She said, and his eyes widened.

" And to tell you the truth I want you to stay." She went on. " But you belong to Ran. And I can't do anything about that."

She turned away.

" You either take it or leave it." She said. Tears threatened to flow from her eyes but she stopped herself. _Stay, _she begged. _Please stay._

Conan looked at the pills in his fingers.

One held the black.

The other held the red.

He looked at Haibara's back.

He loved her.

But he loved Ran too.

There was a huge difference in both girls. From the way they smiled, to the way they frowned, from the way they did anything.

It was as a lightning faded across the sky when he knew.

He threw one of the pills on the ground, crushing it under his feet.

He walked away.

Goodbye. Haibara.

0000000000000000000000000000000000

Ran looked up from her food.

_Shinichi?_

0000000000000000000000000000000000

It was minutes before Haibara turned around.

Conan was not there.

She sank to her knees. A bitter smile fell upon her face. Tears fell down from her face. He was gone. He was gone. He was gone.

She desperately wiped her eyes, but the more she rubbed them the more wet her eyes became. " Kudo," she whispered. It sounded like a prayer. Begging for him. It was not like her to feel so attached to a person. She just couldn't believe being introduced to him once more, the two of them acting like they didn't know each other.

It was painful.

Both physically and internally.

She looked around again.

Conan Edogawa.

She felt numb.

Never ever so numb.

She bent down, her eyes almost digging into her knees.

" Shinichi." She cried.

She felt someone's gentle arm pat her on the shoulder and she looked up.

It was a kid.

" Conan?" she asked.

In his hand was the red pill.

Her eyes widened as he popped it into his mouth, tenderness in his eyes that she had never seen before. " You really like to act tough, don't you?"

Body numb, not knowing whether she would thank or punch him for making her scared and worried, her mouth opened and shut until he placed a finger on her trembling lips.

" I love you, Haibara." He whispered, before claming her lips to his.

Slowly, her movements returned to her as her fingers threaded through his hair. He was hers. Was he. . .hers? She pushed him away gently, a blush appearing on her cheeks.

" Kudo," she said.

" Yeah?" he said, grinning.

" I. . .I love you."

He smiled before pressing his lips onto hers again.

" Yeah." He moaned. " Me too."

EPOLIGUE

" So that's how it is, Ran."

Ran bit her lip.

" So you're sure you're not coming back?"

" Well, at least not for some time. But I'll try my best."

" Okay." Ran said, before her face brightened at the sight of Haibara. " Okay, Shinichi, gotta go!"

Conan smiled as he put down the phone, and walked out of the phone booth.

" Conan!" Ran said teasingly. " So the girl-friend you wanted me to meet WAS Haibara!"

Conan blushed and smiled at Haibara.

" Yeah." He said, scratching his cheek.

" Hello again, Haibara." Ran said.

Haibara smiled back.

" Hello, Ran-san." She said.

" When do you want to go buy dresses?" Ran asked. " I'm free anytime."

Kogoro hit his fist as hard as he could on Conan's head. " What's THIS, Conan!" he said. " You've got yourself someone at this young a age."

Conan raised his eyebrows at him, rubbing his sore head.

Then he grinned as he watched Haibara and Ran walk out the door with Eri behind them. So he would have to start a new life. But it wasn't like he was going to be alone. There was Genta, Mitsuhiko and Ayumi of course. There was the Professor, never forgetting him. Heiji would still be there with Kazuha followed by a slightly unlikely Kaito Kid and Mouri family.

And there would be Haibara there too.

He took out the picture of Ran he had kept in his wallet for the past few years.

" Goodbye, Ran." He whispered, before tearing it up.

END OF FINAL CHAPTER

Well, how was it?

Soap opera fest wasn't it? Not really used to writing stuff like this. But I better get used to it because I seriously need to broaden my horizon. Okay, there was the end of one story. Just two more to go. Please read and review and thank you all for reviewing this story!


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